Tranmere: Peter Johnson pays tribute to Johnny King

Ex Tranmere manager Johnny King met with former Tranmere players at a fundraiser at Hulme Hall, in Port Sunlight, to raise money for a statue in his honour. Johnny with Tranmere owner, Peter Johnson. Pictures by Victoria Tetley

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Tranmere president and former owner Peter Johnson paid a personal tribute to Johnny King as the manager who turned his ambitions for the Wirral club into reality.

Johnson said: "Johnny’s impact on the club cannot be underestimated.

"I bought Tranmere Rovers in 1987 in difficult times, with relegation out of the Football League a very real threat. With his track record and knowledge of the club, Johnny was the ideal man for the job. His first six games in charge kept us in with a fighting chance and the final day victory over Exeter City will forever live in the memory of all those who were there.

"Nobody could have guessed the journey he would then take the club on."

Birkenhead-born businessman Johnson sold his controlling stake in Tranmere to Mark and Nicol Palios in 2014 but remains club president and was at Prenton Park this week.

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Johnny King

He added: "Johnny’s team played with a wonderful attacking flair. He recruited some of the greatest players in the club’s history, with John Aldridge, Pat Nevin, Liam O’Brien, Neil McNab and Paul Cook among those he brought to Prenton Park.

"But alongside them he kept a nucleus of local talent brought through our youth system, with the likes of Shaun Garnett, Ged Brannan, Kenny Irons, Chris Malkin and Tony Thomas key players for many years.

"His achievements as manager have already seen him remembered in a way like no other in the club’s history, with both a stand named after him and a statue outside the ground.

"The many touching tributes to Johnny in local and national media and from our fans at his statue show just how well regarded he was, and rightfully so. It was a pleasure to work with him and he has given me some of my best memories of my time at the club."